‘March lion’ keeps athletes indoors

This is a young team with just three starters returning from last year’s team. The 2012 team often started seven seniors. The returning starters for the 2013 softball Saints includes the one and only senior, Kendahl Rogers and two juniors Acacia Foss and Lorena Hernandez.

March came in like a lion and has remained a lion for the first 10 plus days of the month.

That meant the weather on Monday, with a high of just 30 degrees F. and a nasty wind chill, drove the opening spring practices for softball and track indoors.

This March is way different than last March when the spring sports were able to starting practicing outside as soon as practice began.

The ball fields and track looked like prime Minnesota tundra and not suitable for spring athletics - unless the athletes wore snowshoes.

The great Ernie Banks dubbed Wrigley Field as the ‘friendly confines’ and for the Saints softball team their friendly confines was the St. James gym.

Saints Head Coach Steve Chapin had 25 girls out for the first day of practice.

This is a young team with just three starters returning from last year’s team. The 2012 team often started seven seniors. The returning starters for the 2013 softball Saints includes the one and only senior, Kendahl Rogers and two juniors Acacia Foss and Lorena Hernandez.

It looks like the weather will keep the softball team indoors for awhile.

Boys and girls track Head Coach Scott Allen held those teams first day of practice at the Northside gym.

Allen said 82 kids came out for the first day of practice this included 38 returning letter winners. The coach said there were 10 high school athletes who didn’t make the first practice.

If the weather cooperates a little maybe the tracksters can at least start running outside. The softball team’s going to need the fields to thaw out and to dry out a bit before outside practice can really get underway.

Next Monday, baseball and boys and girls golf begin practicing. Right now, the forecast for Monday has a high of 30, with a 50 percent chance of snow and winds of 22 mph.

Play ball? Sure in the gym! One other thing’s for sure, these athletes will really have a serious case of cabin fever when the weather breaks and they can finally begin to practice outside.